Plasterer&#39;s screed guide



July 4, 1961 s. J. sssss R0 2,990,652

TERER' w UIDE INVEN TOR BY ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,990,652 PLASTERERS SCREED GUIDE Salvatore J. Santoro, 241 Forest Ave., Lyndhurst, NJ. Filed July 24, 1958, Ser. No. 750,643 1 Claim. ('Cl. 50-534) This invention relates to the production of structures of various kinds, including buildings having walls the surfaces of at least some of which are composed of plaster which was applied in plastic or workable condition and subsequently was allowed to harden or set and with or without a finishing coat added for its aesthetic eifect.

The invention relates particularly to a screed guide or raised portion to serve as a gauge in the application of plaster to expanded metal lath or other base and which screed guide or raised portion will provide a guide or indication of thickness when plaster is applied and thereby facilitating the application of the plaster uniformly and of a constant thickness throughout; a screed which may be a strip of wood or the like is used with the screed guides in a manner similar to that used in obtaining pavements having smooth plane surfaces.

In the construction of buildings it is customary as a backing for plaster to apply laths of wood or metal, or to apply Sheetrock to studding, wood frame, or beams, and thereafter to apply a ground coat of plaster. In the application of this ground coat uniformity and thickness ordinarily are dependent on the skill and experience of the workman and frequently the plaster has not been of uniform thickness, has required excessive time in its application, and its surface has not been smooth and without ridges or bulges. Also, methods and equipment employed have not been adequate or satisfactory and have involved excessive time, labor and expense in their production and have not provided substantial walls of uniform thickness.

It is an object of the invention to provide a screed guide or gauge of simple and inexpensive construction, capable of being readily applied and easily followed in applying plaster or other workable material in the con- 2,990,652 Patented July 4, 1961 cludes a pair of parallel ribs forming a trough between the same. The ribs are of uniform height and the metal of the ribs is perforated to provide for intimate keying engagement with the plaster within the trough and on opposite sides thereof. The edges of the screed guide include expanded metal lath. The screed guide is made by means of a die used to perforate, expand, bend and shape the metal to provide the recessed trough. The trough is filled with hard-drying rough plaster, with the level of the plaster in the plane of the top edges of the ridges which form the trough. After the plaster is thoroughly set and cured in the trough, the screed guide will become rigid and ready for application by the plasterer or lather. The screed guide is applied to studding or beams at the top and bottom of the wall to be plastered and at intermediate locations and thereafter the rough plaster is applied to the walls and ceiling flush with the edges of the ridges or ribs of the screed guide in order to obtain a uniform smooth and plane exposed surface on which to apply the finishing coat of plaster.

With continued reference to the drawing, a screed guide 9 formed of a strip of 20 gauge galvanized or black metal includes a perforated or expanded metal mesh lath panel 10 at each edge and is provided with a solid central web portion 11 and a pair of parallel ribs 12' of uniform height each having an inner flange 12A and an outer flange 12B connected by a bight portion 120 with perforations 13, 13A in the inner and outer flanges for keying the plaster to such ribs. The ribs 12 form a channel with the solid web portion 11. Each rib includes an inner flange 12A and an outer flange 12B connected by a bight portion 12C providing the screed contacting edge. The flanges 12A and 12B are spaced apart an appreciable distance to provide for eifective keying of reinforcing plaster 14 into the perforations 13 in the flanges 12A, 12A and leaving the perforations 13A, in flanges 12B, 12B unfilled to provide struction of walls, as well as a screed guide or gauge which will require less labor to produce and apply and which will reduce the time, efiort and expense, required in the application of plaster to walls, ceilings, and the like.

Another object of the invention is to provide a screed guide or gauge which can readily be manufactured in a manner similar to expanded metal lath, which can be bent or shaped to desired and proper configuration by dies, and which includes parallel ribs of uniform height providing a trough with parallel uniform sides perforated so that plaster within and beside the trough will be keyed to the metal and retained in place so that it will not fall, and which trough may be filled with hard-drying, lightweight, rough plaster and allowed to set prior to the application of the screed guide or gauge to the structure to which plaster is to be applied.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of a section of a wall under process of construction with a plurality of the screed guides of the present invention along the upper and lower margins thereof and at an intermediate location; and

FIG. 2, a perspective of an expanded wire mesh lath panel which includes the screed guide or gauge of the present invention.

Briefly stated the screed guide or gauge of the present invention is a metal strip having a panel at each edge for application to a wall to be plastered, which strip infor efiective keying of plaster in the rough coat applied later to the plaster lath which may be of the Sheetrock type, expanded metal or conventional wood lath or the like.

It will be noted that flanges 12A and 12B are spaced apart being connected by the bight portion whereby when plaster fills the trough and bending occurs in the metal of the screed guide 9 due to handling it will not disturb the bond between plaster 14 and the trough formed by web 11 and flanges 12A, 12A. Further, the spacing of the flanges 12A and 12B permits independent keying of the plaster filling 14 with the flanges 12A, 12A and the keying of plaster 17 with the flanges 12B, 12B. It will also be evident that the screed guide of the present invention may be used in intermediate positions.

The trough or space between ribs 12 and web portion 11 is preferably filled with hard-drying, rough plaster 14, the level of the plaster being flush with the top edges of the ribs 12. After the plaster sets the screed guide becomes rigid and is ready for application to the wall or ceiling or other structure.

The widths of the flanges 12A and 12B may be /z", A", or 1" where rough plaster coats of such thicknesses are desired, for example. The screed guides being placed on Roeklath may have flanges of less width or height than flanges used on screed guides over expanded metal lath. Irregularities in the studs and in the beams will be made more gradual in their effect by the use of the screed guide thereby avoiding sharp irregularities which occur in conventional plastering practice. The web 11 may be 1 in width and the perforated portions of the panels 10 may be 1%" and the unperforated portions of the panels 10 may be for example.

The unit thus prepared is applied to studding 15, wood furring or beams, as, for example, at the top and bottom of a wall to be plastered as shown in FIG. 1, and may be secured thereto by fastening means 1 6 such as nails or the like. Thereafter, a rough layer or coating of plaster -17 is applied over the metal lath to a thickness until its exposed surface is flush with the tops 12C of the ribs 12 to thereby insure a uniform surface on which to apply the final or finishing coat to the plaster. A screed 18 is shown extending across the space between the top and bottom screed guides 9 and extending over center screed guide 9.

As shown in FIG. 1 the screed guides 9 with the hardened plaster in the troughs are applied to the wall in transversely spaced relation adjacent the top edge and the bottom edge of the wall. A third screed guide 9 may be placed between the upper and lower screed guides to provide three guiding surfaces to permit the use of shorter screeds 18A and to reduce inaccuracies due to bending of the screed. In the application of the rough coat of plaster 17 to the lathed wall provided with the screed guides 9 of the present invention, a

screed 18 or 18A of sufficient length to extend between two adjacent screed guides is used and the exposed surface of the rough coat of plaster 17 on the wall is made substantially plane with respect to ribs 12 and free from hollows and bulges by filling in any hollows and by scooping the excess plaster away with the screed. After the rough coat is set the finish coat is applied and because the surface is plane a small quantity of finish coat of plaster gives excellent results. It will also be evident that the screed guides are useful in the plastering of a ceiling by locating and mounting the screed guides in transversely spaced relation such as at four-foot intervals. It is preferable to have the screed guides extend transversely to the studs and/or joists or stringers.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that a screed guide or gauge is provided having numerous advantages, including the insurance of plaster of uniform thickness throughout, reduction in time, labor and expense in applying the plaster on the walls and ceilings, and a saving in material by not having the plaster too thick or too thin in various parts of the work, and also insuring a smooth plane exposed surface without bulges and depressions, as well as providing inexpensive apparatus and method by which plaster can be applied.

This application is a continnation-in-part of my prior application for Plasterers Screed, filed December 5, 1956, Serial No. 626,384, now abandoned.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is illustrated in the drawing and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the accompanying claim.

What is claimed is:

The method of plastering a wall surface to obtain uniform thickness of the rough coat of plaster regardless of the character of the base lathing on which the rough coat of plaster is applied comprising forming an elongated screed guide of substantially greater length than the distance between studs of a wall from thin sheet material of substantial flexibility and bending such sheet on longitudinal fold lines to define a first web portion with flanges extending outwardly therefrom, bending the material on longitudinal fold lines to form second flanges connected by bight portions so that the second flanges are spaced outwardly of the first flanges and distant from said web portion, bending an edge web portion on each of the second flanges on longitudinal fold lines substantially in the plane of said first web portion, and providing perforations in the flanges and in the outer edge portions of the outer web portions, filling the trough formed by said web portion and said first flange portions with rough plaster to the height of the bight portions connecting the adjacent first and second flanges and allowing such plaster to set for a suflicient time to rigidify the screed guide structure so that the screed guide structure resists bending and torsional displacement and, applying said screed guide structure with the set plaster in the trough on the studs of the wall to be plastered.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Balhatchet Nov. 10, 

